Manama and its Gulf allies try to blame Iran for the unrest, but may end up victims of their own sectarian rhetoric

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To paraphrase the quote most often attributed to John Maynard Keynes, I reserve the right to change my mind should new evidence present itself, but so far there is no proof whatsoever of Iranian interference to any significant degree in Bahrain's internal affairs. Certainly Iran is not "responsible" for the recent uprisings in Bahrain.

Needless to say, this view is seldom shared by those on the Arab side of the Gulf. The authorities in Manama, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in particular have been resolutely maintaining that Iran, via its nefarious Shia religious ties and untold interference by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), has been a major instigator of the unrest in Bahrain, if not the main one.

Whatever their reason for believing the worst about Iran, the reality is that by blaming the Revolutionary Guard and the mullahs in Tehran, they are abdicating responsibility from Bahrain's elite.